6. The Church of England’s Woman Problem

Reverend Sally Hitchiner, the chaplain of Brunel University, leaves after the vote for women bishops failed during the Church of England Synod at Church House in London November 20, 2012.

One of the longest words in the English language is “antidisestablishmentarianism” — a political position in the 19th century that sought to defend the Church of England from those who would remove it from its privileged place as the “Established” church of the realm, supported by the government, crown and taxpayers. Well, the church had better dust off the word after its General Synod failed to pass a popular motion that would have allowed women to be ordained bishops. With Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams retiring as its spiritual head, the Church is between leaders; it’s also riven with controversies over issues such as gay ordination. Conservatives within the Church oppose turning Anglicanism into a version of the Episcopal church in America, which does ordain women as bishops (and gay men too). But this doesn’t seem to be an opportune time to offend women, who want to help (and have been helping) a church that is seeing membership and attendance decline. And embrace of hoary tradition may also put the C of E at arms length from the government of Tory Prime Minister David Cameron, who increasingly sees the “official” religion as unrepresentative of the country today.